Michael Harty (Clare, Independent)
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I raise the issue of Lisdoonvarna national school. Lisdoonvarna is a very famous town in County Clare. The school has had to take in 18 extra pupils over the past three months because a direct provision centre opened in Lisdoonvarna at the beginning of March and now has 115 asylum seekers, 18 of which are schoolgoing children attending the primary school. The sudden influx of pupils has put substantial pressure on the resources of the school and its ability to deliver education to the highest standards.

It was a controversial decision to place the direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna. The school openly embraced taking in the 18 children. The school was quite enthusiastic about bringing them in and assimilating them into the community. The school expected that it would be allocated extra resources. The real pressures that were going to come from the direct provision centre were on educational services and health services. The school expected that extra supports would be put in place and it enthusiastically embraced the students. The school expected it would get an additional teacher. It is looking for an additional language teacher and an additional classroom teacher because the number of pupils in the school has risen by 13% in a very short time.

The students, being asylum seekers, have language difficulties and educational difficulties. The school is in a very vulnerable position. The pupil-teacher ratio has increased and the extra 18 pupils have exceptional needs. In the future there may be more than 18 pupils because the nature of asylum seekers is that they are transient. The number of such students attending the primary school may increase beyond 18. The existing pupils in the school prior to the arrival of the asylum seekers had a standard of education that was very high, but that will invariably be diluted unless new resources and extra teachers are put in place to accommodate their needs.

The school is looking for a reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio because of the extraordinary and unique circumstances of having such an increase in numbers and asylum seekers who require greater time and attention from the teachers. The school is not looking for DEIS status but for a DEIS-type ratio for the school. The problem is that Lisdoonvarna is being treated as just an ordinary national school that has had an increase in pupils. It is in an extraordinary position in that the increase in pupils comprises asylum seekers and they have exceptional needs. I understand the Department has allocated a half-time equivalent language teacher to the school and that is very welcome. The school requires an additional classroom teacher to accommodate the extra numbers.

Lisdoonvarna should be seen as a template for the future in situations like this because direct provision centres may be opened in other towns like Lisdoonvarna. There should be an anticipation of the needs rather than the needs being arrived at first. It should be anticipatory rather than a crisis situation. Lisdoonvarna could be used as a template for other schools and as a beacon for the future.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton. I apologise on his behalf as he cannot be present owing to a prior commitment. I will, however, make sure to convey to him the matters raised in the debate. I know Lisdoonvarna very well.

Education provision on an inclusive basis is a fundamental principle of the education and training system. Ensuring every child is supported and given the opportunity to reach his or her full potential is a key priority for the Government and the Department is committed to improving educational outcomes for children in the protection process.

In March the Reception and Integration Agency of the Department of Justice and Equality opened a new direct provision centre in the King Thomond Hotel in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare. The contract is for the provision of services for a maximum of 115 persons and for a fixed period of one year. The provision of accommodation services beyond that date will be subject to a new process and the contract will not be renewed automatically. To date, the Reception and Integration Agency has dispersed 107 asylum seekers to Lisdoonvarna on a phased basis, 36 under the age of 18 years.

The direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna is one of a number opened by the Reception and Integration Agency across the country in recent years. The Department of Education and Skills has seconded an official to the agency to support the education aspects arising from accommodating asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation. Owing to the ad hocnature of requests for asylum to the agency, it is not possible for the Department to be advised significantly in advance of the fact that a centre is being opened or details of the numbers of children and adults or their ages.

The education issues which arise for local schools and education and training boards relate to capacity in terms of the numbers and age profiles of children and to the English language competency of the adults. The impact of the opening of a direct provision centre on local schools, therefore, needs to be considered on a case by case basis. When the relevant information is available from the Reception and Integration Agency, the Department works with local schools, the education and training board and Tusla on education provision for residents of the proposed centre. St. Enda’s national school, Lisdoonvarna has enrolled ten pupils who are resident in the direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna and indicated that it will enrol a further eight in September. From the outset, departmental officials have been engaging directly on an ongoing basis with the principal of the school to advise and assist him in the process of accessing additional educational supports required to provide for the needs of the additional cohort of children.

Michael Harty (Clare, Independent)
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I have visited the centre in the King Thomond Hotel in Lisdoonvarna and the facilities are of a very high standard. The asylum seekers are looked after very well and assimilating into the community. In spite of the many reservations of the local community, they are being welcomed and their adult educational needs and other requirements are being met. The school is in exceptional circumstances and needs to be treated as an exceptional school, rather than as just an ordinary school following the normal processes, when it applies for extra teachers and supports. It is important that it not be viewed as a normal school with an influx of indigenous pupils. It is taking in an extraordinary group of pupils with special needs. I congratulate the principal, Mr. Michael James Malone, who has embraced the children and welcomed them into the community. He was very enthusiastic about accepting them into the school and still is, but he is concerned about their educational requirements. The school should be treated as unique. The allocation of a half-time language teaching post is very positive and the school is very appreciative, but I would like the message to be conveyed to the Minister that an extra whole-time classroom teacher is a requirement to deal with the extraordinary needs of the students.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The school recently applied to the independent staffing appeals board for a teaching post in English and has been granted an additional half post. Should it receive more enrolments in September, the board of management can apply again in October for further support. The school has also applied for an additional post based on its developing status. A decision on this application will be made in the near future. The principal, Mr. Malone, has been advised that if he believes the school profile has changed to such an extent that it cannot provide for the special education teaching needs of the pupils from within the current allocation, a review of resources may be sought from the National Council for Special Education on the grounds of exceptional circumstances. Officials of the Department of Education and Skills will continue to engage directly with the principal on the resources required to meet the needs of the additional cohort of children. The school may continue to apply for additional resources as children are enrolled from the centre having established the additional educational needs of the children, including their language needs.